Well, this year, we are experiencing something very odd. I can't recall the last time I took a walk and enjoyed the fresh air. I am more reminded of the Lion , the witch and the wardrobe's wintered earth. Baby, it's cold outside. What's going on? What happened to our serendipitous NC faux winters where we get a chill then the next day we're picnicking? By golly, i think Mother Nature is having her menopausal way with us this year and it isn't even very fun. Just because she is experiencing hot flashes is no reason to freeze us all out of our skins.
My Christmas Cactuses are blooming for the second time this season.
The bulbs are trying to poke through the ground but keep getting pounded back down by snow and cold rains.
The wreath on my front door is still preserved, this time last year it had turned brown and had begun shedding. I need to see that sign of spring.
I purchased a ton of 75% off bulbs just last week and was told it was not, unfortunately, too late to put them in. Will this Alaskan air ever leave?
Hmmmmm. Surely, it can't be all bad. Let me give this a think.....
Winter’s unwanted gifts:
Frigid air- still AND moving.
Cold car seats
sore fingers from thumping –before- touching doorknobs and handles because I don’t like being shocked and there is no way to avoid it, thank you winter.
The ground refuses shovel access; frozen dirt is hard to interrupt
Plants hibernate and take their colors with them.
Winter’s gracious gifts:
Unexpected days off due to snow or anticipated snow or hopes of snow or hearing snow has fallen somewhere within a 1,000 mile radius.
Hot chocolate’s flavor is in its prime
The transition from winter to spring is an easy one, for a change
Flannel sheets and heavy covers offer security
An opportunity to watch nature change her clothes
Knitting and crochet and felting are at their best
Showing posts with label winter. Show all posts
Showing posts with label winter. Show all posts
Friday, February 12, 2010
Thursday, January 18, 2007
Winter wonders
One of the fun aspects of living in this part of the country is the delicious weather. I say delicious because our weather is cooked up with a pinch of spicy unpredictability. We can have mid 70's on a Monday in January, and snow by Wednesday. You just never know. I recall years and years ago, when I was a mere teenager, delighting in the oddities of the seasons here. I find cold and flu season especially interesting here, still.
The Winter season revolves around looking for the first snowflake. Sometimes, the first will be the last, and other years, we'll have buckets of slush for days on end.
The local meteorologists keep us on the edge of our seats with "weather alerts" and "Operation snow desk special reports". Often times, the weather alerts consist of warning the viewers of "the possibility of some potential changes in temperatures that might result in cold." In high school one year,I distinctly recall the adrenaline rush upon hearing the intro sound to "Operation snow desk special reports".The urgent message scrolled across the bottom of the screen bleeping out morse code warnings while the reporter silmultaneously was breaking into regular programing- all to remind us, with frozen urgency, what we needed to do to prepare for frigid temps -were they to ever arrive. Sadly, I believe we had an uneventful season that year.
These taunting and teasing alerts continue still and are broadcast to us from December 21 til March. -there is something about considering the chance of possible precipitation that creates a refreshing energy. The titles of the program interruptions change from year to year, but the idea and purpose remain the same. The reporting practice keeps the meteorologists on their toes, helps them stay focused through doldrum and dreary overcast days of winter. I have come to look forward to these seasonal reports, and I consider them in some ways a mini-series.
Truth is, we don't usually have too much excitement in the way of snow and other cold flaky stuff around here. Every now and then, we'll get measurable and impressive snow or ice, but not every year, and because of that the anticipation is all the more exciting.
Waiting can drive one to the short side of mania, though. The local news teams are experts at stirring the viewers into a flurry of irrational responses. " The temps appear to be thinking about dropping in the next week or so." ..." The air flow is full of crystalized dew today" ...."Something in the form of chilled micro-galvanized water has been reported heading towards secondary roads"
It is comments like these that get us winter watchers revved up. and that is exactly why I am not surprised that we, here in our area have surpassed the world record for highest number of automobile accidents caused by single snow flake fall-age.
The weather people work their suspense, break into regular programming, and drop hints of something coming bit, by bit..by bit..... until by the time they actually say, "It's snowing, the first flake has hit the ground!" car fenders are jumping into the roads begging to be dented.
"Oh, for God's sake, I can't take it anymore!!" screams a Jeep.
Take me!! scratch me!! Just get it over with!!" hollers a hallogen headlight.... screeching for scratches and scrunches, the fiberglass, plastic, and metal body parts go on and on.
I like to clock them, the accidents that get tired of waiting to happen.
This morning, the precip started at 6 am, and by 8 we had 217 accidents reported. At 11, the snow was gone, the roads were singing in the rain, and the excitement was over. ...Until next time (due to hit in 72 hours , maybe 74) or possibly, not until next year.I find the whole phenomenon entertaining. This time 2 years ago, we had recorded 800 accidents in the same short time.
The church is self-contained when it comes to seasons. The season of advent is consistent, annually coming along inside the church walls and it runs parallel with Fall and early winter outside. Some advent years are warm and sunny, others are dark and muggy. No matter, advent comes every year, the baby Jesus is born again and again and again.
Was it warm in Bethlehem that year? Was it snowing? Were sand floods covering the toes, of the wise men? Is this why it took them so long to get there? Oh, the details that are left to our imaginations. There are no Farmer's Almanacs published that early in history, either.
Did the Angel say to the mother to be, "You will be with child in 40 degrees with a northerly wind?", or was it more like, " Wear a cammie and some shorts and you'll be fine"?...
or, "Double up on your socks along the way to the Inn,Joseph, there will be a chill in the air?"
In looking at pictorial depictions of the birth of the babe, did you notice the camels and donkey and other participants who surrounded the new born babe seem to be standing a little close? Were they blocking the frigid evening crisp? Well of course they were. Why else would travelers and desert animals subject theirselves to the odiferous wafts of such a snug gathering? I'd be willing to bet it was pure T freezing, people. Desperate temps call for desperate measures, I say.
No telling what really happened in the atmosphere those many years ago, but today, in present day time, we saw some snow. Well, I think we did, anyway. I'd better go check the news
The Winter season revolves around looking for the first snowflake. Sometimes, the first will be the last, and other years, we'll have buckets of slush for days on end.
The local meteorologists keep us on the edge of our seats with "weather alerts" and "Operation snow desk special reports". Often times, the weather alerts consist of warning the viewers of "the possibility of some potential changes in temperatures that might result in cold." In high school one year,I distinctly recall the adrenaline rush upon hearing the intro sound to "Operation snow desk special reports".The urgent message scrolled across the bottom of the screen bleeping out morse code warnings while the reporter silmultaneously was breaking into regular programing- all to remind us, with frozen urgency, what we needed to do to prepare for frigid temps -were they to ever arrive. Sadly, I believe we had an uneventful season that year.
These taunting and teasing alerts continue still and are broadcast to us from December 21 til March. -there is something about considering the chance of possible precipitation that creates a refreshing energy. The titles of the program interruptions change from year to year, but the idea and purpose remain the same. The reporting practice keeps the meteorologists on their toes, helps them stay focused through doldrum and dreary overcast days of winter. I have come to look forward to these seasonal reports, and I consider them in some ways a mini-series.
Truth is, we don't usually have too much excitement in the way of snow and other cold flaky stuff around here. Every now and then, we'll get measurable and impressive snow or ice, but not every year, and because of that the anticipation is all the more exciting.
Waiting can drive one to the short side of mania, though. The local news teams are experts at stirring the viewers into a flurry of irrational responses. " The temps appear to be thinking about dropping in the next week or so." ..." The air flow is full of crystalized dew today" ...."Something in the form of chilled micro-galvanized water has been reported heading towards secondary roads"
It is comments like these that get us winter watchers revved up. and that is exactly why I am not surprised that we, here in our area have surpassed the world record for highest number of automobile accidents caused by single snow flake fall-age.
The weather people work their suspense, break into regular programming, and drop hints of something coming bit, by bit..by bit..... until by the time they actually say, "It's snowing, the first flake has hit the ground!" car fenders are jumping into the roads begging to be dented.
"Oh, for God's sake, I can't take it anymore!!" screams a Jeep.
Take me!! scratch me!! Just get it over with!!" hollers a hallogen headlight.... screeching for scratches and scrunches, the fiberglass, plastic, and metal body parts go on and on.
I like to clock them, the accidents that get tired of waiting to happen.
This morning, the precip started at 6 am, and by 8 we had 217 accidents reported. At 11, the snow was gone, the roads were singing in the rain, and the excitement was over. ...Until next time (due to hit in 72 hours , maybe 74) or possibly, not until next year.I find the whole phenomenon entertaining. This time 2 years ago, we had recorded 800 accidents in the same short time.
The church is self-contained when it comes to seasons. The season of advent is consistent, annually coming along inside the church walls and it runs parallel with Fall and early winter outside. Some advent years are warm and sunny, others are dark and muggy. No matter, advent comes every year, the baby Jesus is born again and again and again.
Was it warm in Bethlehem that year? Was it snowing? Were sand floods covering the toes, of the wise men? Is this why it took them so long to get there? Oh, the details that are left to our imaginations. There are no Farmer's Almanacs published that early in history, either.
Did the Angel say to the mother to be, "You will be with child in 40 degrees with a northerly wind?", or was it more like, " Wear a cammie and some shorts and you'll be fine"?...
or, "Double up on your socks along the way to the Inn,Joseph, there will be a chill in the air?"
In looking at pictorial depictions of the birth of the babe, did you notice the camels and donkey and other participants who surrounded the new born babe seem to be standing a little close? Were they blocking the frigid evening crisp? Well of course they were. Why else would travelers and desert animals subject theirselves to the odiferous wafts of such a snug gathering? I'd be willing to bet it was pure T freezing, people. Desperate temps call for desperate measures, I say.
No telling what really happened in the atmosphere those many years ago, but today, in present day time, we saw some snow. Well, I think we did, anyway. I'd better go check the news
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